Page 46 of Fated Surrender

“Look at him. Gabriel is one of the oldest vampires in existence, he is Rhys’ creator and he is donating his own blood to save his child. Gabriel’s blood is one of the rarest substances in the world, and he is giving it freely to save Rhys. I can not let you kill him. Not now. Not when he has finally been found.” Connor met Baron’s eyes.

They stared at each other for a minute before Baron nodded.

“Prince Gabriel. How long before you know for sure that he cannot be saved?” Baron asked.

“If his eyes don’t return to normal within the first month, then I won’t be able to save him,” Gabriel said, sounding weaker.

“We’ll visit again in a month. I am not doing this to be an asshole. But, if he has to go down, it might be easier to let me do it.” Baron ran his hands over his shaved head.

“I appreciate the additional time.” Gabriel’s voice held no emotion.

Baron nodded. “Connor, we’re moving out. I doubt he will return here. But, we’ll monitor the place just to be on the safe side. We’re back to square one with this killer. He said he was moving on, now we have to wait for bodies to start popping up again.” Baron growled.

“When you catch him, I would like to be present for his judgment,” Gabriel announced. Coming from him it didn’t sound like a request.

“Of course. Connor, we’re taking one of the SUVs,” Baron said, giving a half bow to Gabriel.

Connor nodded then started counting people. They had enough room for Madison, but no one was expecting to find Rhys. Connor watched as Daniel walked over to Aleks and pulled on his hand. His head jerked to Gabriel. He mouthed the word ‘please’.

Aleks nodded and walked over to Gabriel and Rhys, rubbing his hand between Madison’s ears.

“Gabriel, you’ve given enough. Any more and we’ll have to carry your ass out of here. If you’re still set on donating more to him later, do it after you’ve rested and eaten. If I take you back to Arkadia sucked dry like aCapri Sun, Ashby is going to kick my ass,” Aleks teased.

Gabriel graced them with a rare smile.

“We couldn’t have that. It would damage your grumpy reputation.” Gabriel closed his eyes and eased Rhys off his neck. The man made weak protesting noises before settling down tosleep. When Gabriel opened his eyes he looked at Daniel. “I always underestimate you. You and your brother surprise me at every turn. I’ve never been prouder of the two of you than I have been these past few months,” Gabriel complimented the small vampire.

Connor was completely unprepared for Daniel’s reaction.

“Oh my god you’re dying! I let you get killed. Roman is going to crucify me. Oh god, I hope Roman kills me before Mikhail gets me! You can’t die!” he cried.

Gabriel sighed and pulled a cell phone out of his suit jacket pocket. With one hand he dialed a number.

Smiling, Connor walked over to his mate before joining her on the floor. She licked his face before she rested her head on her crossed paws.

“Noel, who is there for security? Kurt and Lauri? Good, send them to the address I’m about to text you. Have them bring the vampire restraints from our dungeon…”

“It’s all my fault!” Daniel slumped down on the floor, sobbing.

“It’s just Daniel. No, he’s fine. Get here as fast as you can, I have Rhys. We need to restrain him and get him back to Purgatory…” Gabriel stopped mid-sentence as Rhys hissed in his sleep at the mention of their club.

“Second thought, we’ll take him back to the coven house and get him set up in our basement. He was kidnapped for Shifted Death, Noel. Yes. Yes, contact whoever you can. He will need a constant supply while we wean him off of shifter blood. Yes, hurry.” Gabriel ended the call and quickly texted the address to his club manager. With an exasperated look of affection he watched one of his youngest vampires come unglued in the middle of the hallway.

“Do you really think I am dying because I paid you a compliment?” Gabriel asked, sounding a bit stronger.

Instantly the tears stopped. Daniel turned and looked at Gabriel, his innocent eyes spilling over with tears. Silently, he nodded.

“I am sorry for that. Ashby is helping me become more approachable,” he admitted.

Daniel sniffled and crawled over to where Gabriel sat on the floor with Rhys cradled in his lap. Daniel wedged himself between Madison and Gabriel and rested his head on Gabriel’s thigh. With his only free hand, Gabriel ran his hand over Daniel’s hair. Daniel’s breathing evened out and he fell into a light sleep. Everyone else sat with their backs against the walls of the hallway and waited for Kurt and Lauri to arrive with the extra vehicle.

“I can see what Ashby was talking about. You’d be wonderful with a baby,” Connor said softly.

Gabriel’s eyes showed a hint of surprised before returning to his normal sarcastic smirk.

“I should have known you were the one to help him talk to me. I was going out of my mind with worry. He seemed so heartbreakingly sad and he wouldn’t open up.”

“You do realize he is reeling from pregnancy hormones right now?”

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